I just recently got off the horn with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and acquired the official fighters’ salaries from UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz II event, which was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on this past Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006.

These are the official numbers reported to the NSAC and do not include deductions (usually a couple hundred dollars) for items like insurance, licenses, etc. Additionally, these salaries do not include the typical bonuses the UFC pays for the submission of the night, knockout of the night and fight of the night. They also do not include the pay-per-view cuts that some of the UFC’s top fighters receive.

In other words, although these are official salaries, they do not necessarily represent exactly what each fighter made for his fight.

Also worth noting is that the official paperwork showed no “win bonus” for Chuck Liddell (the paperwork also showed that Tito Ortiz also would have not received a win bonus if he had won). I’m assuming the UFC had a special deal in place for their marquee attractions, and I’m sure they were taken care of (financially) in some other way, such as getting a cut of the pay-per-view revenue.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.